Match Report: Rooney draws blank in frustrating Newcastle stalemate
Manchester United extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to three games, but were left bitterly disappointed after being held to a 0-0 draw with Newcastle United at Old Trafford in Saturday’s early kick-off.
Louis van Gaal’s side enjoyed nearly 70 per cent of possession and were unfortunate not to have taken the lead in the opening 10 minutes when Wayne Rooney’s strike was incorrectly chalked off for offside.
Instead, Rooney is now without a league goal in almost 15 hours of football in the Premier League. The United captain did, however, manage to record multiple shots on target (2) for just the second time in this calendar year, but failed to end his hoodoo in front of goal and must now be prepared for further scrutiny regarding his position as United’s main striker.
Despite dominating proceedings, it was actually the visitors who created the two best chances of the match. Aleksandar Mitrovic - a surprise starter - was unlucky to see his powerful header cannon back off the crossbar in the first half and Florian Thauvin almost had a debut to remember, but failed to get his studs on Papiss Demba Cisse’s pass in the closing seconds.
United came out of the traps looking to lay down a statement to their title rivals and should have been ahead after just four minutes when Rooney was threaded through on goal by Adnan Januzaj. The England captain finished with aplomb, but was denied his first United goal since the start of April after being flagged for offside.
Javier Hernandez was denied by an excellent outstretched leg from Tim Krul late on, before Chris Smalling almost capped off another dazzling performance with the winner, but his towering header was thwarted by the base of the far post.
Despite finishing as the WhoScored man of the match, Chancel Mbemba (8.2) struggled to cope with the threat of Memphis. The Newcastle right back, filling in for the suspended Daryl Janmaat, was dribbled past a match-high five times.
The United No7 came into this match off the back of his dazzling Champions League performance midweek, but found life more difficult on this occasion. The 21-year-old still finished the game having completed more dribbles than any other player (7), but his final ball let him down all afternoon.
The point lifts United top of the table, albeit momentarily, whereas Newcastle’s hard-fought performance means they have avoided the embarrassment of eight straight defeats away from home in the league for the first time since October 1977. There were plenty of positives to take for Steve McClaren, but he is still searching for his first win as Newcastle manager.
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